Tulip nodded. “I should let you rest. Congratulations on your baby.”
“Thank you. Would you please send Gabriel back in here? I won’t be able to sleep until he’s here again.”
Tulip nodded and headed back to the waiting room. The wolves were gathered around the alpha and his new daughter, but Tulip managed to get his attention and pointed to Autumn’s room. Gabriel gave her a smile before pulling himself away from the pack and carrying Alora back to her mother.
Vaughn stepped to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You look tired again.”
“I tried to heal Autumn and give her a little more energy. I’m afraid it sapped mine and my magick is weaker now too.”
Vaughn placed his hand over her belly and nuzzled her cheek. “You need to be careful, Tulip. You’re going to need your energy for taking care of the baby. I don’t want you to overdo it. Especially not until we know you’re safe. What if you needed your magick to protect yourself?”
“I’ll be careful. Autumn said we should have a protection detail at the house, but I’m sure Gabriel would prefer to have them watch over his mate and new daughter.”
“I’ll talk to my friends and see if they’ll help take care of you when I have to return to work in a few days. Maybe we’ll know more about what’s going on by then. If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to be exceptionally careful.”
“Are you ready to go home, or is there somewhere else you’d like to go first?” Vaughn asked.
“Home sounds good. I should probably eat something. Pregnant fae require a lot more food than we do normally. You can show me more of those movie things, like we watched last night.”
“Let me say goodbye to the pack and I’ll return in a minute. Just wait here for me.”
Tulip leaned against the wall near the elevator and waited as Vaughn made the rounds speaking to everyone. The doors behind her dinged and she looked over her shoulder as an older couple stepped out. They had a basket of blue items for a baby boy and smiles on their faces. It was nice seeing so many people gathered to welcome new life into the world. She wondered if it was their daughter who had had a baby, or maybe even a granddaughter.
Tulip smiled as she watched Vaughn smile and laugh with his pack. She wondered if he was always like this with them, or was he happier than usual because of their mating? Her fingers touched the bite mark on her shoulder. It was warm beneath her fingertips and she could feel the magick in her trying to heal the wound. By morning, it would probably be a little red and nothing more. Being a shifter bite, she knew it would scar, but she would wear it with honor.
A hand settled on her shoulder, making her look up as her heart nearly stopped in her chest. She breathed a little easier when she saw it was the sorcerer standing behind her, and not one of the fae. She hadn’t even felt a shift in energy when he’d appeared, and it worried her that he’d been able to sneak up on her.
“We need to talk,” Eric said.
“Vaugh is just telling everyone goodbye. He said we were going home.”
“This can’t wait.”
Before she could utter a word of protest, the sorcerer clamped both hands on her, and in a flash of light, they disappeared from the hospital only to reappear in what seemed to be a log cabin. Tulip could feel the wards in place around the structure and wondered if it was the sorcerer’s home.
“I’ll message Aislinn and have her let your mate know where you are. I don’t want him to worry,” Eric said. He pulled out a phone and tapped on the screen for a minute before shoving it back into his pocket.
“What couldn’t wait?” Tulip asked.
“The light fae have put the word out among the supernatural community. You’re wanted dead or alive.”
Tulip felt herself pale and she sank onto the nearby sofa. “Why? What did I ever do to them?”
“When you came here, did you see any dark fae around?” Eric asked.
“No, it was like the palace had been abandoned. There were dead fae surrounding the palace grounds, but I was too weak to stick around and check things out. I willed my magick to bring me here, to the wolf pack. It took me to Vaughn.”
Eric nodded. “The light fae have captured or killed every dark fae they can find. You’re the last, as far as they know, with the exception of some Halflings. Which means, they want you rather badly.”
“But I tried to help their people! I was imprisoned for my efforts and left to rot.”
“It’s possible we can call a meeting with an emissary of the light fae and see if they will rescind the order. If we can make them believe you truly mean them no harm, then you would be safe. This house is the only place their magick can’t reach, and they can’t enter without my permission.”
“So, I’m a prisoner here until the matter is settled?” she asked.
“I could put up wards at Vaughn’s house, but it might take a little while to make them strong enough. I could bring your wolf here to watch over you, or I could ask someone else to stay with you. Is there anyone in the pack you trust?” he asked.
